The excitement about the Pope was palpable and it got this old Protestant to thinking about what it is this Pope says and does that attracts so many people to him. Certainly, his humility is a factor. Here is a Pope who rides around in a tiny Fiat while other leaders prefer huge limousines and SUVs. His authenticity is beyond doubt--he relishes the company of children, the infirm, the poor and homeless. His love for all people exudes from his person—he washes the feet of the lowly, he freely gives blessings, he asks people to pray for him.

He speaks for justice fearlessly, denounces privilege, encourages people to focus on the essentials of the gospel and seeks to draw the circle wide. This afternoon, I met with a Member of Congress regarding the need to make permanent the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit as well as to replace sequestration in a responsible and balanced manner.

“How is it,” we were asked by the Congressperson, “that people attend church each week and hear the directives to care for the weak and needy and then go out and denounce the immigrant and the hungry?”  Can we not also draw the circle wide?

My brother and my uncle have pastored a number of churches that were in steep membership and attendance decline when they arrived on the scene and, by the grace of God and hard work, they were able to reverse the downward trajectory. In each instance, once the congregations had grown back to the size they were in the ‘glory days’, they expressed contentment and had no desire to include more people.

Last week, Pope Francis warned the church not to use ‘harsh and divisive language’ and against raising “doubts about the working of the Spirit, to give the impression that it cannot take place in those who are not ‘part of our group,’ who are not ‘like us,’ is a dangerous temptation. Not only does it block conversion to the faith; it is a perversion of faith!”

All churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, have a long way to go to make this a reality. The desire to turn inward, to protect one’s tribe, clan, nationality, race, faith is nearly overwhelming. I can tell you even the seating charts at the Pope’s multi-religious gathering ranked people according to their titles and their insider status. 

Living our faith is tough. 

Religious leaders and legislators present nuclear abolition call to the United Nations

Leaders of the major religious faiths and interfaith networks, joined forces with parliamentarians and mayors from around the world to call on world leaders to “commit to nuclear abolition and to replace nuclear deterrence with shared security approaches to conflicts.”

The call was made in a joint statement presented yesterday to Mogens Lykketoft, the President of the UN General Assembly, as world leaders gather at the UN for the opening session of the UN on its 70th anniversary year.

The statement, calls specifically on world leaders to negotiate “a nuclear weapons convention or framework of agreements that eliminate nuclear weapons,” a proposal advanced by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and supported by over 130 countries.